CT assessment of Buccal movement and vestibular volume

Buccal compliance may be reflected by the change of the vestibular volume and buccal movement during maximal buccal distension. This project is designed to established the normal range of vestibular volume and buccal movement by computed tomography (CT). From July 1995 through July 1996, 100 patients without oral pathology underwent facial CT of cheek blowing using their greatest effort. There were 73 men and 27 women, with ages ranging from 18 to 65 years (mean, 38.7 years). The buccal movement, indicated by the distance between the greatest convexity of the distended buccal mucosa and the dental arch, was measured on CT. The vestibular volume on each side of the oral cavity was obtained by summation of all the interval vestibular areas calculated by the CT software. Our results showed that the vestibular volume range from 17.11 to 47.7 cm³ (mean, 28.09 cm³; standard deviation, 7.41 cm³) on the right and from 14.94 to 43.33 cm³ (mean, 27.28 cm³; standard deviation, 7.16 cm³) on the left. The buccal movement ranged from 1.31 to 2.41 cm (mean, 1.83 cm; standard deviation, 0.28 cm) on the right and from 1.30 to 2.52 cm (mean, 1.79 cm; standard deviation, 0.27 cm) on the left. The buccal movement and vestibular volume on the right side were significantly larger than those on the left (P<0.05). This study provides the normal range and mean values of the vestibular volume and buccal movement of a sample of the Taiwanese population, which were established objectively by CT. Further study is required to validate the efficacy of this method in assessing the buccal functional outcome in a patient after oral surgery or radiotherapy.